Where in Aslan's Name am I?
by Arysthae
Summary: After going through the mysterious portal, Susan finds herself in England - modern day England. Trying to find her siblings is a tricky job and it's only harder when more people need rescuing! Luckily she's got a friend to help! Rated T for situations.
1. Finding Susan

**Where in Aslan's name am I?**

**Chapter 1**

**Finding Phyllis**

'_And then, wonderfully and terribly, it was farewell to Aslan himself, and Peter took his place with Susan's hands on his shoulders and Edmund's on hers and Lucy's on his and the first of the Telmarine's on Lucy, and so in a long line they moved forward to the Door. After that came a moment where they were seeing three things at once. One was the mouth of a cave opening into the glaring green and blue of an island in the Pacific, where all the Telmarines would find themselves in the moment they went through the door. The second was a glade in Narnia, the faces of Dwarves and Beasts, the deep eyes of Aslan and the white patches on the badger's cheeks. But the third (which rapidly swallowed up the other two) was a grey, gravelly surface of a country station a seat with luggage round it...'_

Prince Caspian, pg190

But as they found themselves sitting down, Susan felt yet another terrible jerk and found herself on the floor of a grey tiling that seemed unfamiliar on a cold, windy day, quite unlike the weather when they had been at the railway station. There were a lot of people wearing black blazers and very short skirts around her.

"Are you all right?" asked a girl with short brown hair, who looked rather like her friend Lily Harrison back at her boarding school.  
>"Quite so." said Susan, brushing herself down. She made her way to a brown wood bench and sat down. She examined the clothes she was wearing. A black blazer with an embroidered shield with the letters NGS and a Latin motto, Vincit Veritas. Having studied Latin for three years, Susan was quite sure that it meant 'truth wins' or something along those lines. She wore a warm, wool-like blue jumper that was rather loose and a shade of blue that would never been available in the war time.<p>

So this was obviously before the war. However, she stared at the tights and the feel of them against her skin. She had never felt any material like this softness and smoothness, not even her Mother's silk dresses from the drawer where they hid. She frowned as she rubbed the material of the black skirt and the slip underneath. The slip was a silk one in gaudy shade of mauve she had only seen in Calormene and the skirt itself was cotton so light she couldn't imagine it. Susan suffice to say, realized that she was in the future. Her clothing was farfetched compared to her green blazer, skirt and tie ensemble all in heavy cotton and wool with a lightly woven straw hat.

She frowned at the length of skirt as she stood up; it was far above her knees which was the appropriate length for young ladies. It was bunched together at the top and Susan rolled it down with a tug. A blonde teacher nodded approvingly as she briskly walked by with a shoulder satchel of leather. Susan examined her over frilly pink bag with plenty of purple ribbons and bows all over it. Her nose wrinkled and her lip curled. She held it at arm's distance, as far away from her as possible. Not only was it horrible aesthetically, the capacity was frightfully small too. It barely held any books and Susan supposed if she tried to pack more; it would split in half, all together too easily.

She looked through the crowd after her silent contemplations. There were many benches with many people; talking and shrieking loudly, all with ridiculous amounts of jewellery and odd hairstyles that seemed to go in every direction but downwards. The only person who looked anything like her friends back in Finchley was a girl with her black hair in shiny plaits with dark skin; just a few shades lighter than the Calormene peoples. She had glasses which rested on the end of her nose and she was reading a rather thick book and seemed to be singing.

Susan made her way over towards her.

"Hello!" said the girl, "What are you doing over here, Su?"

Susan froze, how did the girl know who she was? "Hello...?" she said, her tone faltering slightly.

"Phyllis. Phyllis. You should remember my name, seeing as the teachers seem to think I'll be a good influence on the new girl. Even if you have only been here a week, you should be able to remember my name, Suzie." said the girl, looking exasperated.

"I'm sorry, Phyllis. But how do you know my name?" asked Susan, feeling very confused.

Phyllis merely rolled her eyes and returned to her book. "I sit next to you in every lesson, remember?"

Susan sighed. 'No actually, I don't."

Phyllis looked annoyed. "That forgettable, am I? No need to be rude about it, I know I'm a geek. Just leave me alone, Suzie."

Susan briefly wondered what a geek was but a more pressing question came to mind. "Why do you call me 'Suzie'?"

Phyllis looked at her with an incredulous look. "That's your name? Surely you aren't that dumb! You are Suzie Pellis, new girl from Finchley, Surrey."

Susan now felt she had a better grasp on the situation; the girl must have confused her with someone else. This reminded her of Cor and Corin's predicament in Calormene. She could now sympathize with poor Cor who had been snatched from the streets and told he was Corin.

"No. I'm not. My name is Susan Pevensie."

Susan suddenly felt another huge tug, like the one at the station which had bought her and her siblings to Narnia. She hoped that she would go back to the station, and even saw the image faintly in the distance of the country station, but the image was blown away by a particularly violent gust of wind.

The other girl, Phyllis, slumped over her book, looking almost unconscious. Susan tapped her gently on the shoulder. She sprung to attention, startling Susan to no end.

"I'm not asleep!" she blurted before looking at Susan with an odd look. "Who are you?" she asked

Susan felt even more perplexed now. First the girl knew her name, then she had it wrong, now she had no idea who she was.

"Susan Pevensie, I just told you." She snapped, feeling more than justified in her actions.

Phyllis froze. "Do you have a sister and two brothers?" she asked, almost cautiously. Susan nodded. "Are their names Lucy, Edmund and Peter?" Susan nodded again, uneasy with the tone of the questions. "Narnia, Tumnus, Jadis, Cair Paravel, Lantern Waste, Calormene?" she said, rapidly firing a string of words that would have made no sense to anybody else but Susan gaped. This was too much for one day; being denied access to Narnia forever, landing in a world that wasn't her won, confusions and finally his. She buried her face in her hands.

Phyllis tapped her on the shoulder. 'I guess you have no idea where you are. Which time period are you from?" she asked. Susan shook her head, not trusting her vocal faculties.

"Lantern Waste? Caspian? Tirian and Jewel?" she asked.

"Caspian." murmured Susan.

"First or second?" asked the girl again, rather brutally, Susan felt.

"First. I didn't know there was a second... do I meet him again?" Phyllis blinked and shook her head.

"You have no idea what's happening, do you?" asked Phyllis. Susan shook her head, yet again. She was fast losing her temper.

"Just tell me what's happening? Why am I not in Finchley?"

Phyllis sighed. "What year is it in your world?" she asked.

"1941." said Susan, maybe this girl didn't understand that she wanted crystal clear facts.

"Well here? It's 2011. You're in Newlands Girls School, Maidenhead, Berkshire, The United Kingdom of England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland. The world has changed a lot since you last knew it. In fact, so much so, your story here is immortalized. There are seven books. The first is Professor Digory and his friend, Polly's adventures with green and yellow rings and the creation of Narnia. The second is of your first adventures in Narnia, defeating the White Witch. The third is the story of Shasta and Corin and Aravis and the journey across that desert. And the fourth is the adventure you just had with Caspian." said Phyllis, sitting down again.

Susan wasn't quite sure how to react to that particular bombshell. "Well, his name wasn't actually Shasta, he was actually Cor..." she murmured finally, not even deigning to respond to the others.

Phyllis laughed a high-pitched sudden sound. Susan almost jumped.

"What! Who has a laugh like that? It's like a hyena." said Susan, shuddering, remembering the hostage situation with the last remaining forces of the Witch's creatures in the most glorious part of her life.

"If you think mine is strange, you won't like many others. But, I was laughing because of all the things to comment on from what I just told you... I think I'm going to like you, Susan Pevensie."

A sharp bell sound rang out. Susan frowned. "What's that mean? And where is it coming from?" she asked.

Phyllis started packing her books back into her bag. "It means the start of lessons again. And it's automated. I guess they didn't have automated bells back in your time. We've got ICT next. Come on; even if you are new, Mrs. Grogil will still kill you for being late."

Susan gingerly picked up the pink monstrosity and followed Phyllis. "What's ICT?" she asked as they left. Phyllis groaned.

"Today is going to be a long day..." the girl sighed as she blew a few spare strands of hair from her face.

(tCoN)

"...Yes, I do know that Phyllis Macready is a weird name for a girl with dark skin. My mother was Indian and my dad was English. Guess who named me?" Phyllis said to Susan as they walked to where Phyllis told her was the canteen.

She was also told that she ate lunch at the canteen every day and always ate broccoli and tuna salad (which Susan hated with her life) with a card that she had no idea where she kept.

Susan sighed as they got into the queue.

"Do you know anything about Suzie Pellis?" asked Phyllis in an undertone as they got into the large queue for the canteen.

"No. I don't even know where I live. Where do I go to go home?" asked Susan

Phyllis shrugged. 'I'm not a stalker. I don't get those details off girls until they're my friend. Other You wasn't exactly...the nicest person on Earth, lets say. But the problem of personal details is easily solved. OI, RACHEL!"

Phyllis shouted the last part to a pretty girl with unnatural red hair curled in pigtails. She and the rest of the group she was talking to behind them in the queue turned to look at her.

"I bet Sus-zie that you didn't know any of her details, because you're horrible friends. So why don't you prove me wrong? Go on, tell me her email, address, phone number, favourite things; like actual friends would know!"

The girl looked affronted but Susan could clearly tell that was fake. She wasn't friends with some of the most horrible girls in her school for nothing. Lucy always looked at her oddly when she boasted about this; but one thing she knew, was that while they were mean, beauty was everything to them and Susan had plenty of that.

The girl started parroting meaningless numbers and words until Susan caught an address. 15 Edith Road, that was useful. Phyllis shut them up and looked at Susan smugly.

"I never said that you couldn't find it out. I only silently challenged you." said Susan, happy to back into a battle of wits that she had secretly enjoyed in Narnia.

Phyllis laughed as she tossed Susan the salad that Other Her ate. She looked at it with disgust. "I'm not spending money on food that I'm not going to eat. That's such a waste. In our time, you could get put into prison for that kind of thing." said Susan putting it back and picking up a ham and cheese sandwich instead.

She sighed as they waited in the queue and Phyllis started a conversation with another girl in front of her. She had always been considered the pretty one out of her family. Peter was the strong one, their rock. Lucy was their soul, their joy and the love. Edmund was wise and sly and witty and she was just pretty. But she wasn't. She had all of their strengths.  
>She knew that she did. She was strong; even if she did not fight as the rest of her family did, she waited and acted like she was alright and that was the hardest part. She was happy, she could act happy and when she was, you knew that everyone else in her family was okay. And while she had never been good at studies at school; everybody knew of her maturity and her ability to understand and feel what people needed.<p>

She blinked as she found herself in a completely different area with Phyllis looking at her curiously.

"How did you know to come here? Hell, how did you even do the tricky part with the machinery? Even I can't do it correctly half the time!" said Phyllis looking incredulous.

Susan blinked rapidly. She had no idea how she'd ended up here. "I...don't know. I was thinking quite deeply."

Phyllis stroked her chin pensively. "I think I have a hypothesis but this is one experiment I can't perform without dire risk assessments that can't be solved. I think that Suzie Pellis exists inside of you. The modern person does exist and you just inhabit her body. I don't know whether this theory is correct; but hopefully, if you space out in ICT and Science, we won't have the problems we had before lunch..."

Phyllis shuddered at the thought and Susan smiled sheepishly.

"What if I actually want to learn about this world?" Susan asked.

Phyllis shrugged. "If you do, that's cool. Just don't ask the teacher what the internet is again, PLEASE!"

Susan winced. "She never answered. She kind of fainted before she could. What IS the internet?"

Phyllis nervously chuckled. "Wow. Of all the things to ask...I have no idea how to explain it. Ummm...you do know what a computer is, don't you?"

Susan nodded. She had heard of the Enigma and Ultra machines from flirting with a few soldiers the year they'd returned from Narnia the first time. She knew then how to be alluring after her long experience and the unconscious mannerisms she had in Narnia.

"Well; it's a system of them connected together to share information...I guess? I think that is how you would describe it. "

Susan's brow delicately furrowed. "Why would code-breakers need to connect? I suppose they could share different codes and engine power but it does seem pretty pointless..."

Phyllis blinked. "You're thinking of Enigma, aren't you? Computers advanced since then. Now it can function as a typewriter, a printing press and we can communicate with others and share information. We have a saying. 'If you don't know something; Google it'. Google is a search engine. Literally everything you ever need to know, you can type it up on the computer and you'll find what you need. "

Susan blinked. This world became more and more confusing by the moment.

"Please say you still dance." said Susan, a pleading tone to her voice.

Phyllis laughed. 'We advanced into the future; we didn't forget the past. If you want we can go watch Dance Company perform once you've finished eating." Susan quickly finished eating, brushed herself down and gracefully rose from her chair, feeling more like Queen Susan the Gentle with a full stomach.

"Lead the way, good my sister." said Susan, reverting back to the old speech of Narnian royalty. The people sitting around them gave her an odd look but carried on eating and Phyllis suppressed a laugh.

(tCoN)

It was the end of the school day and Susan walked out of the school gates with Phyllis, feeling much happier with the afternoon than the morning. At least English and Music didn't change altogether too much over 70 years.

"Now, we've got to deposit you at your house." Susan blinked, she hadn't thought about her family at all today.

"Phyllis, what about my family?" she said, feeling absolutely terrible for not thinking about where Edmund, Lucy and Peter were. "Where will they be? They must have come with me!"

Phyllis looked even more horrified. "Oh gosh! How did we not think about them?" she asked.

Susan sighed and palmed her head in her hands.

Phyllis looked distinctly uncomfortable as she ushered Susan along; steering her through the crowd of inquisitive people. "Susan," she said once they were out of earshot of most of the people, "What if they didn't come with you? What if you were the only one who got sent here?"

Susan paused a moment but immediately dismissed the idea. "No. I'd know if that happened. We have been together for so long through so much; I would be able to tell if they were dead or away from me. No; they are in this world. Where; I know not, but that would be our quest, would it not?" she asked. Phyllis grinned.

"Well, let's go check the first, easiest place. Your home."

(tCoN)

Susan sighed as they reached 15 Edith Road after a lot of walking, that she was slowly getting used to after the long treks she had just endured in Narnia. Phyllis looked her meaningfully and Susan stepped forward and rung the doorbell.

A weary lady with streaky brown hair going grey at her temples opened the door and sighed at Susan.

"Suzie! You know I'm busy! This job is so very difficult and money doesn't grow on trees; despite what you may think."

Susan felt a wave of anger at Other Her; couldn't she how overworked this poor lady was? Why wasn't Other Her helping her mother? "I'm sorry Mother—

The woman held her hand up. "Hold on Suzie, why 'Mother'? What happened to Mum?"

Susan winced. 'I'm sorry, mum, I forgot my keys. I didn't want to cause you any hassle. Go back to your work, I'll be as quite as a mouse, I promise."

The woman's face softened. "I don't know what happened, Suzie, but I like it. Get in - and bring your friend with you." She said, fondly.

Phyllis decided to cut in now. 'Actually, I was wondering whether Sus-zie could come over for a sleepover tonight? I'll take her off your hands. You do seem quite busy."

Susan put on a fake look of indignation and her mother in this world laughed. "Oh Suzie! You _have_ found a good friend. Off with you, I'll see you soon!"

Susan smiled and was about to go inside the house when Phyllis stopped her. "I've got anything you'll need at my house. Don't go inside. You'll want to stay and that's not a good idea." She whispered quickly and fiercely to Susan.

Susan frowned pensively, why exactly was Phyllis so defensive now? But she acquiesced and waved goodbye to her mother in this world and was about to walk awy with Phyllis when a thought struck her.

"Mum, are Lucy, Edmund or Peter home yet?" she asked.

Her mother looked very perplexed. "Who?" she asked after a moment's pause.

"Never mind, Mum," said Susan and strode away after Phyllis.

"How far is it to your house?" asked Susan as they strolled down the lane. Cold zephyrs zipped past them, taking the flower blossoms with them.

Phyllis's brow furrowed. "10, 15 minutes? I think. Not too long. I haven't been here before, you see. But I'll know where to go from now on. I hope..."

Susan and Phyllis walked together in a comfortable silence.

"Do you think my siblings will be like me? In a school? With a family? Will they remember?" she asked the questions that had been swirling in her mind since School had ended.

Phyllis shrugged, her hands buried deep in her pockets. "I wouldn't know and I wouldn't presume to guess. The best hope I can give you is that if you believe in Aslan, he'll guarantee you a safe path. All of you. I think... I think they are like you, but I wouldn't want to raise your hopes and dash them cruelly to the ground later."

Susan felt a burst of joy at that statement; Aslan would protect them as he always had.

"We're here..." said Phyllis, almost sullenly. Susan blinked. The houses along this road were huge! They looked bigger than even the Professor's house in the country.

Phyllis pulled a blue trimmed card and scanned it in front a black screen. It blinked red and the gates in front of a house opened. She swiped the card through a slit in the door next to a large shiny gold number nine and the door swung open.

Susan's eyebrows rose. "That's a little extreme." She said quietly. This girl should have been a sybarite; but she acted nothing like it. In fact; she seemed to despise it.

Phyllis shook her head in disgust. 'Don't ask. My father is a rich fool," she said, stepping into the house, beckoning Susan to come with her. "DAISY!"

Susan shut the door behind her and stared at the large chandelier in the middle of the hallway. There was a rather grand staircase leading away to the side and plenty of doors in the long corridor.

A woman with short curly red hair, a rather crooked nose and an apron peeked through a particularly shiny red door.

"Hello Phyllis. Your father called!" She said, coming out with a large contraption; the purpose of which, Susan was unsure. It did look rather like a sweeping machine that her cousin Eustace seemed fond of reading about in those large; rather boring books, even by her standards.

Phyllis looked rather sceptical about the excitement the woman seemed to have.

"What did he want? A monocle set sent over? Another useless book about vampire slaying? Silver bullets?" she asked, sarcastically, looking irate and frustrated.

"Actually," said the woman looking more timid, "He wanted to know whether your mother's invoice had arrived yet. His latest customer is being stubborn with parting with his money."

Phyllis sighed dramatically. "At least he's being sensible for once. I'll go check the mail. Is it in the living room, Daisy?"

The woman nodded, relieved that Phyllis was looking calmer. She had seen the dark expression on her face when talking about her father, she knew there was something up too.

Susan followed Phyllis through a bright green door into a calm room with streaks of gold and black through the cream paint. She went towards the pile of letters on the table immediately and sat herself down on one of many sofa arranged in a semicircle facing a black screen that closely resembled the computers Susan had seen that morning but far bigger and without the big box. Instead there was smaller box accompanied by a tangle of wires.

Susan drifted towards the fireplace where there many pictures scattered around and on it; though Susan quickly discovered; only two of these were actual photographs.

The first photograph was of three people that looked a lot like Phyllis. She quickly indentified the attractive Indian women posing raunchily for the camera to be Phyllis's mother. That would mean the man absentmindedly reading a book with a large tangle of feathers and crystals on top of his head was Phyllis's father. In the middle was a child about Lucy's age, perhaps younger, which Susan immediately realized was Phyllis looking uncomfortable between her two parents. Susan could understand why. She felt a twinge of pity for the girl; Susan had always been in a loving family and through they had had their arguments, they had obviously loved each other. There wasn't much love exchanged in this family.

The second photograph was completely different. There was a brown haired boy and Phyllis and they were pumping water at each other and laughing. Susan could only guess who the boy was but he looked a lot like Phyllis and her father so he supposed that it was Phyllis's cousin.

Susan smiled at her deductions, it wasn't just Edmund who noticed and analyzed things. She did too; in fact, she and Edmund were the ones to protect Peter and Lucy's innocence and minds while Lucy and Peter protected them physically. That was just the way things worked; the two golden-haired, golden-hearted rulers were to stay that way and the darker, broody rulers stayed that way too, untouchable.

She turned round to Phyllis who was frowning as she read the crisp white coloured letter.

"What's wrong, Phyllis? Did she not send you the money?" Susan asked.

"No, she did," said Phyllis, almost absentmindedly, looking a lot like her father in the photograph on the wall.

"Then why do you look so upset? Did she write something beastly?"

"No," said Phyllis, tearing her eyes away from the letter, "No, she sent far too much. Almost triple the amount she usually sends. I don't know why. And I'm worried why my father called. He never calls, not even to tell me when he's in England. Something's up - and I don't know what."

Susan blinked rapidly. That was unexpected. There were far too many unexpected things today.

"What was the large machine Daisy was carrying outside?" asked Susan after a long pause.

"A vacuum cleaner. It hoovers up dirt and dust. Quite useful but it makes far too much noise. I'm glad she did the cleaning before we came. And on that note..." said Phyllis, standing up, leaving the mail behind. "Wait here, Su,"

Susan however did exactly the opposite and followed Phyllis.

"DAISY!" called Phyllis as they walked out into the corridor .

"I'M IN THE KITCHEN, PHYLLIS!" came the shout from behind the red door.

Phyllis pushed through the door and Susan followed her into a large spacious square room with a sleek black marbled tabletop. Phyllis jumped up onto the surface and sat down with an audible thump.

"If I told you, you could get your salary for doing no work at all; how would that sound to you?" she asked conversationally. Susan tilted her head curiously. Phyllis had suddenly morphed into a smooth talking salesman or politician that only England could make. _Or __Calormene.__The __reason __you __are __wary __is __because __Rabadash __was __like __this __but __smoother __and __more __romantic._

Susan brushed away the treasonous voice and waited for the shocked woman's response.

"W-well..." Daisy stammered, "Y-your f-fath-er w-w-w-ouldn't like it. H-he sen-t m-me t-t-t-t-o look aft-t-ter you..."

Phyllis leaned forward just a tad, not enough to intimidate but enough to put just a little bit of pressure on the person she was manipulating. Susan frowned just a little; she and Edmund often used that to put pressure on stubborn ambassadors from other countries.

"But it's really not worth it, is it? Cleaning this huge house...looking after _stubborn __old __me_... I could give you double your salary for this month now and your normal salary for the following weeks I dismiss you...I could do the rest. I know how to cook and the house _really_ doesn't need cleaning _every __single __day_...Wouldn't that be nice? You could go on holiday. Tan a bit, gain a bit of confidence. I'll call you back, but won't be for at least a month if not longer. Doesn't that sound good?"

Susan shuffled away from Phyllis slowly, her persuading voice was very good and frankly, scaring Susan, just a little. If she could appeal to Daisy this well, had Susan just been wheedled into this? What if Phyllis actually meant harm to her and her family? _Why __had s__he __never __considered __this __before?_ Susan moaned softly, she was losing her touch. She hoped Edmund wasn't and that Peter could keep his wits about him. Alas, Lucy...Lucy was far too gullible and trusting. She could only hope that danger would stray from Lucy.

"B-b-but..." whimpered the poor maid, bringing Susan back to reality with a jolt.

"Triple the salary then. But I really can't pay you more than that. I may be rich but I'm not made of money. Come on Daisy, please just say yes,; this is good for both you and me. And think for a moment; when has my father actually cared about me?"

There was silence from the maid and she nodded. "I'll go. But I want you to promise you'll stay out of trouble and if the kitchen starts smelling; YOU WILL CALL ME. There's frozen food in the freezer and when that runs out; well, God help us all. Try not to blow up the whole house. I'll be taking my leave now. I want the money by the end of the week. Salut."

The maid walked out of the door and it shut with a slam and Phyllis leaned back and placed her head against the wall. She rubbed her temples and looked weary. Susan would have sympathised if Phyllis hadn't just turned into everything she hated and never wanted to see again.

"What was that supposed to be?" asked Susan, using her mother voice which always made her siblings cringe when they'd done something incredulously stupid.

"Can't you hear and process what just happened? Or is the dumber side of Suzie Pellis showing up?" asked Phyllis, her eyes still closed.

"You just bribed, pressurized and almost gave that poor lady a heart attack!" said Susan, her deadly quiet voice.

"It was for the best. I'll slip up name-wise somewhere and Daisy is one of the biggest blabbermouths on the planet." Phyllis sat up and jumped off the table. 'Anyhow, it's best my father doesn't get wind of this; he'd come back with a ridiculous notion of protection and then forget all about it as he goes off another money-squandering shopping trip for useless items."

"How can I trust you? You know everything about me but I know nothing about you! How do I know you aren't on the Witch's side? How do I know you support Aslan? How am I supposed to trust you when I know nothing?"" said Susan, letting it all out with a rush.

Phyllis looked away angrily. "I didn't want to tell you because I don't want you to feel pity. I don't need it; I'm used to living alone. My parents got together in Vegas. They woke up one night with rings on fingers, with hangovers as large as Mars in bed with a stranger. They departed with phone numbers feeling odd that they got married. Then my mother discovers she's pregnant with me. She calls my father and they start getting their act together; pooling the money they earned over the course of their careers and quit their jobs, if for a small time to look after me. My mum was a lingerie model in India and my Dad's completely crazy. They divorced when I was six or seven. I can't remember my mother and it has been three years since I saw my father."

Susan looked away. Now she wished she hadn't asked, but she had to know more to check she was truly trustworthy.

"Why is your father crazy?" she asked.

Phyllis's lip curled. "He's a so-called paranormal investigator and slayer. Most children get told fairy tales as bedtime stories; I was taught the weaknesses and strengths of all the creatures he'd supposedly encountered. Most children are taught their ABCs and countries at a small age; I was taught how to use a rapier and a gun and how to identify all these creatures. I actually believed these stupid stories when I was younger but I realized just how crazy he was. Most people store spare junk and useless gifts from relatives in their basement. My father? He's made it a creature safe room with mistletoe, garlic, silver and oak wood panels over the walls and doors. He also stores all his weapons down there. I have no idea how he got a license for them, but they exist."

Susan blinked. Well, there wasn't anything wrong with the girl's father at all. In fact, he was gifted with sight, a gift only Peter had, to her knowledge, until now. "Well, maybe you'll believe him more now. After all, how else did I get here by magic? Anyway, werewolves and vampires all existed in Narnia. Maybe they just escaped into this world?"

Phyllis laughed bitterly. "No. I won't believe till I see it. He's a loon, and so are his customers for paying him. If I didn't know him better, I'd say he's a very smooth salesman and con man, but he actually believes in this stuff, so I'm wrong."

Susan shook her head; she supposed if she didn't have Aslan she would act like this to the idea of Narnia, she knew, but it was still incredulous how much a person could deny. "I'm going to make dinner. Show me the ingredients?" said Susan.

Phyllis brightened as they left the topic of her family behind and hurried to help her find the pantry and some fresh vegetables.

(tCoN)

After the meal and a lot of explanations on how the oven, grill and hobs worked; Susan and Phyllis settled down in her living room.

Phyllis pulled out a large scroll of paper from underneath the table and a pencil too.

Susan leant forward; they were obviously going to be doing something.

"From the way I see it," started Phyllis, placing the pencil on paper, "Your siblings will be close to you if you can 'feel' them. So, I assume they'll be in Maidenhead. Your mother doesn't know them so you aren't related to them. I also assume their name has changed slightly like you. Susan to Suzie. Perhaps, Edmund to Edward. Lucy to... I dunno, you get the gist."

Phyllis then drew a mini table that said 'Schools' as its title in the corner of the sheet.

"Okay, how old is Lucy?" asked Phyllis distractedly.

"She's nine." answered Susan without hesitation.

"Then she'll be in primary school. The primary schools I know are: Courthouse, pray that she didn't go there; Wessex, which is quite far from whether we are, a forty-five minute walk; Lowbrook, a decent place. Can't say I know much about it though. Umm, what else? My old school, St Edmund Campion, it's a really nice place and Holy Trinity, up near Furze Platt."

Susan looked nonplussed at the amount of schools for this town. "How big is this place?"

"Not that big. Only 100,000 people or maybe 150,000. But there are a lot of children from other towns."

Susan blinked. 'Phyllis, how do you call 100,000 people a small amount of people? That really doesn't seem like it's a small amount."

Phyllis shrugged as she finished writing all of the schools down on the list.

"Okay, now for your brothers Su. Edmund's two years younger than you and Peter is two years older than you, right?" Susan nodded in answer to Phyllis's sharp question.

Phyllis looked pensive. "Okay," she said, after a few moments. "Because you're in Newlands; one of your brothers has to be in Desborough, because that's Newlands's brother school. Cox Green and Altwood are also possibilities. I wouldn't rule out Claire's Court or Furze Platt either. Are any of your brothers above average knowledge wise?" asked Phyllis again, painstakingly etching the names into the table with details of location and standard.

"Edmund's very clever. Peter's good too, but sport is his advantage." said Susan; fondly remembering the jousting and wits competitions her boys used to have against each other and members of the court to keep them on their toes. That had worked to their disadvantage once, with a skunk maid who had gotten so flustered at the Kings addressing her; she'd gassed them and their rooms with enough stink to last all week. Needless to say; their thrones were just a little bit further away from her Lucy's.

"Okay; then they would have a chance to get into Borlaise and John Hampden then. Those are a bit further away and would be tricky to investigate properly. Luckily I know people there. I'm not close but I'm sure I can get them to do a bit of investigating."

Susan looked at the list with apprehension. "That is a lot of schools..." she murmured.

Phyllis threw her a sympathetic look. "You know, you could let Aslan bring them to you... You wouldn't have to trawl through all of this..."

Susan paused; the idea was more than tempting and Aslan had never failed them yet. _But __you __are __not __allowed __into __Narnia __again. __Surely __that __is __him __failing __you. __How __can __you __trust __him?_

She scowled; neither of those thought processes seemed right. She would trust Aslan, as they always had; but just in case, she would search too.

"No. I will find them. You don't have to help me, but I will find them, if it takes forever. I am not abandoning my siblings to this new-fangled world."

Phyllis smiled sadly. "Good to know you're dedicated. And don't worry, I'm not going to leave you struggle through this mess alone! What kind of a friend would I be then? Anyways, you'll need someone to do your science homework for you!"

Susan smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her head.

Phyllis rolled her eyes. "Don't look so guilty Su! It's hardly your fault. Anyway, I'm GOOD at Science. It won't take me too long. You should get some sleep. Your room should be first floor; yellow door. That's always furnished with the necessities. Borrow some pyjamas from my room. Same floor; turquoise door, drawer five."

Susan laughed and headed up the stairs. Hopefully this was all a bad dream and when she woke up, she'd be back in Narnia, suffering a hangover from too much spiced wine.

(tCoN)

_Susan wa__tched __from __a __distance __at __the __naval __battle __that __all __of __her __siblings __were __at. __It __was __a __long __and __tedious __one __and __Susan __would __have __given __anything __to __be __there __with __the __archers __to _know _that __her __siblings __were __well. __Unfortunately,__they __couldn__'__t __all __swan __off __and __fight. __Someone __had __to __stay __behind __and __as __always, __Susan __accepted __this __job __with __grace. __But __as __she __dealt __with __trivial __affairs __and __alliances __to __be __made, __Susan __always __found __her __gaze __diverted __towards __the __window __where __the __ships __were __fighting __and __her __attention __was __always __drawn __back __by __the __ever __patient __chamberlain, __Sirrah __who,__despite __his __mischievous __appearance __was __a __rather __serious __raccoon._

_Suddenly a squirrel messenger ran in, eyes diluted. "Your majesty! It's the highnesses! THEY'RE DEAD!"_

**What? No...that isn't right! Edmund got seriously injured and Lucy was presumed missing. They weren't dead...**

_Suddenly the scene morphed to a ball scene. Susan was dancing with Rabadash, the charming ambassador and later ass, when he turned around and stabbed Lucy who was dancing behind with Tumnus then laughed and murdered Edmund too._

**No, that isn't right either... He actually span you round so fast you felt like you were flying and falling into love.**

_The scene morphed once more and to Susan's horror, it was winter once more and she recognised the scene immediately. It was her worst nightmare, when the Fell creatures found a hag and brought back the Witch's winter back to Narnia for a few weeks. Edmund, Peter and Lucy were captured and bound by a minotaur and several hyenas and werewolves. The hag stood to the side while Susan was hiding in the trees. She had never been able to remember how they'd managed to get into that situation, but she was sure that it involved a lot of bribery and corruption. _

"_Prepare to die, highnesses!" shrieked the hag. "The girl first!"_

**Now I know this didn't happen. I saved them. Everyone told me it was one of the bravest things I'd ever done. My crowning moment, pardoning Edmund's pun. This was a nightmare. This had to. I'd wake up in Miraz's castle in a luxurious bed, ready for a lot of hangover cure. Wake up, Susan.**

_The hag lifted the knife and plunged into Lucy. The boys started screaming and thrashing and Susan cried._

**MOVE! Do something! Don't stand there like a dummy! Shoot the hag!**

_Edmund managed to kick the minotaur and it gored him and he slumped with a finality and indignity of meaningless death. Peter was in hysterics by now and Susan was still silently sobbing. The hag lifted the knife then lowered it. The hyenas cackled with joy and the laugh sent chills shuddering down Susan's spine. _

"_I know how you like human flesh! Try some, Fenrir. You and your pack. You deserve it!"_

_And the werewolf pack descended upon Peter and Susan could see body parts everywhere–_

**WAKE UP SUSAN!**

_The scene changed again. There was Edmund. He was in his England clothes but was well._

_Susan ran towards him and put her arms around him. "Oh Edmun—"_

"_You killed me." He said blankly and Susan stopped embracing him. She then realised the blood pouring from his first scar wound from the White Witch. _

"_Ed..."_

'_YOU KILLED ME! You don't deserve to be alive!"_

_The scene changed again. Peter stood there in his formal clothes looking disapproving. _

"_Peter? Why was Edmund acting so weir-"_

"_You try to usurp me, sister?"_

_Susan stopped and looked at him. 'Wha—"_

"_Or can I even call you that now? There was only one high King and that was me. Who gave you the authority to rule over us? You aren't mother, don't try and take her job, and sure as hell aren't me. So you can't boss us around. Susan. You don't deserve your title."_

_The scene changed once more. There was Lucy in her nightgown. She was crying, tears all over her face._

"_Gosh Lucy, what happened?" said Susan rushing towards her._

"_You said Narnia was a game!" Lucy sobbed._

"_But..."_

"_How could you? How could you forget Tumnus? The Dancing Lawn? Rabadash. Corin and Cor and Aravis? Orieus and Reepicheep? And Caspian! Everyone knew you had a crush on him! How could you forget? And Aslan, Susan? Is he a fiction? Is his breath, his laugh, his mane? Did we make that up too? You sicken me, Su! If you can't believe, you don't deserve our LOVE!"_

Susan awoke with a start, tears pouring down her face. She was in a room she didn't recognise without Lucy or Edmund or Peter. Back in an England she doesn't know. She leans back against the bed and gives in to the wracking sobs and heart-wrenching moans for her siblings and for a land to which she would never return.

After a while, when there were no tears left, Susan sat up and swung her legs out from underneath the duvet. She wondered what to do. There was no going back to sleep after that. Then it came to her.

Susan quietly crept out of bed, wiped away the tear tracks that streaked her face and made her way down the stairs.

Back in her England, whenever someone had a nightmare, she would always prepare hot milk for them. She hadn't had many nightmares herself and they were usually smoothed away by Peter or Lucy. She could only hope hot milk worked here too.

As she opened the red door, a strange sight greeted her. The light was already on. Though the clock in front of Susan depicted the time as three o'clock in the morning, there was Phyllis with several charts, diagrams and pencil drawings scattered on the kitchen table. Phyllis looked up, surprised to see Susan.

"Oh no! What happened Susan? Are you okay?" said Phyllis immediately abandoning the many papers to put her arm around the taller girl.

Susan shook her head, suddenly, she found she still had tears to spare and talking would release them. Phyllis seemed to understand because she let her go and gestured towards the kettle. As Susan went to fill up the water, Phyllis stopped her.

"I always find a spot of hot chocolate helps when you're down." She said, steering her towards the milk from the fridge. Susan filled the kettle with milk and sat down on a chair. Phyllis reached up the shelves and grabbed two cups. She also bent down and grabbed a large brown pot.

"What's hot chocolate?" croaked Susan, finding, as it always was after one had a long, jolly good cry, that your voice didn't sound right at all, as if your sorrow bunched up in your throat and wouldn't go away.

Phyllis's eyes widened. "I forgot you come from the rationing time period. Oh you'll love it! It's simply the greatest." At that moment, the kettle pinged which startled Susan but didn't bother Phyllis in the slightest.

Phyllis poured the hot milk into the cups and added four spoonfuls of a brown powder. "Suger, Su?"

Susan nodded; this was one thing all of the Pevensies agreed with, sugar tasted good with _anything_.

Phyllis stirred the concoction for a while before handing it to Susan cautiously.

"Careful o'that. It's proper hot."

They sat in silence, sipping the warm, surprisingly delicious drink. Phyllis merely sat there, watching. There was no pressure, no obligations to Phyllis. She was waiting, just like Edmund did, on the rare times he got to her when she was despairing, before Peter and Lucy. And it was because of this, the silent tears rolled down Susan's cheeks once more.

"You know, it's not often my family makes any modicum of sense, but one thing my father always used to tell me; was that there is no use bottling up emotions, likes they are insects. You can trust me, despite your accusations this afternoon. If...you want to...that is." said Phyllis looking nervous.

But Susan acquiesced to the girl's nervous tone, for the second time that remarkable day and told her of her nightmares, her doubts about herself and family and how she felt she could never be like them. She told the girl of her doubts, her fears and her hopes for the future. For next to no reason, Susan found herself pouring her heart out to a girl she barely knew. And perhaps that was for the best, because there was no pity, no scorn, no anger for thinking the way she did. No rebukes for how she felt forsaken and unloved, never to return o the only place where she belonged by a cold lion. Just a tired smile and a warm hand around her.

And when Susan had nothing left to say, she felt so tired, she starting yawning, like you always do when you have exhausted yourself far beyond your capabilities. Because, despite her mental age, she was still a thirteen year old girl. And that was when she fell asleep.

(tCoN)

Phyllis smiled and slowly carried the fast asleep Susan to the living room where she sprawled her over the longest sofa and covered her with some spare blankets. Susan did not awake through all of this and when Phyllis was finished making her comfortable, she turned off the lights and closed the door with an inaudible thump.

"Back to work, " she mumbled, feeling a yawn coming on. "Stupid contagious yawns," she muttered and went back to drawing under the dim light of an almost broken blub.

**AN: Wow! That was some first chapter. There were so many points I meant to finish at but I didn't. This story has been in planning for over year and while it says on my poll that I'm in a Narnia craze now, truthfully, I have wanted to write this for a long time. This is the first and only story with a planned plot for every chapter. That's a change!**

**I hope you liked it. If you do, please review. It's nice for me to know I'm not just writing to my own imagination.**

**Hopefully the next update will be soon. I still have to finish the second chapter of Ingo fic and ninth chapter of ATLA fic. :O**


	2. Adjusting to a New World

**Where in Aslan's Name Am I?**

**Chapter 2 - Adjusting to a New World**

"_Grown-ups thought her the pretty one of the family and she was no good at school work (though otherwise very old for her age)"_

Voyage of the Dawn Treader, page 8

Susan had always considered herself decent at school work. She had never been like Edmund or Peter or Lucy who nearly always got outstanding marks in all of their subjects apart from a few, but she'd got grades to be happy with; especially in the things that mattered her, like Music, English, Languages, Rhetoric and Swimming.

Her other subjects were utter shambles however, as she'd never had a mathematical mind, however rational she had been. But here, Susan was lost. So many new things to learn, so many different subjects she'd never done before and she found her grades in that first week dropping.

She and Phyllis dedicated their time to doing homework and making sure that Susan could understand everything; which reasonably, took a rather large amount of time, rendering them next to no time to search for her family. This was worsened by her Mother in this world insisting that Susan spend more time inside the house rather than 'gallivanting off with your new friends'.

This had led to Phyllis, in desperation, teaching her how to use her phone in the middle of Science where the teacher didn't seem to be paying them any attention whatsoever. Susan had found everything about it fascinating; especially since she had only ever encountered a typewriter once and this new device was so very different to writing. Needless to say, it took a few hours to master, but soon Susan found herself quite adept at it.

Needless to say, Susan had gotten rid of the pink monstrosity for a much more sensible and weight-capable leather briefcase, which had gained her the scorn of her peers but in the end; a feeling of security when she put in her heavy reading books from Phyllis's suggestions.

It was at the weekend, that Susan and Phyllis finally got to relax and plan a little bit more at Phyllis's house. Susan swiped her card into the door mechanism and walked inside Phyllis's house.

"Good grief, Phyllis, have you cleaned nothing at all this week?" asked Susan as she walked in the corridor.

Phyllis popped her head out of the kitchen. "Thank god you're here! Do you know how to wash dishes?"

Susan laughed. "Yes, yes I do. How do you not?"

Phyllis looked sheepish. "Well, I'm scrubbing and scrubbing but it's not going away."

Susan looked curious. "Out of interest, how long has it been since you washed these?"

Phyllis scratched the back of her neck. "Since after the day you stayed over?" she hesitantly admitted, her voice fading as it went.

Susan heaved a large sigh. "No wonder, you numbskull. The leftover food's crusted. You can't wash it away by scrubbing. You have to soak the dishes in water for a while before scrubbing them."

Phyllis groaned. Susan felt a twinge of pity for the girl. Despite being a queen in Narnia, she was almost exactly the opposite back in England, helping her mum, Helen to scrub, cook and clean the house more than the rest of her siblings. She knew luxury but she also knew hard-work and all the little techniques that made house-work easier.

"I'll do it." She said, in a long suffering tone.

Phyllis brightened. "You brought your homework, didn't you?" she asked.

Susan nodded.

"Good," said Phyllis, "I'll do all of it. Well; I'm sure you can do English and Music yourself, but all the rest, I'll do them, if you'll do the dishes."

Susan looked at her pensively. "For the whole time I'm here?"

"For the whole time you're here. Could you also help for the-"

Susan interrupted. "Of course! An eye for an eye! I'll clean and cook in exchange for schoolwork and homework done."

Phyllis smiled. "Then, that's pax made. Shall we get to it?"

(tCoN)

Susan collapsed on the sofa in the living room. "Phew, I'm jolly well glad that's over!"

Phyllis gave distracted laugh as she drew up two identical graphs on the tiny squared paper. "Be a dear Su, turn the telly on, would you?" she said, not once looking up.

"What's a-"

"Sorry, forgot you didn't know. Pick up a long thin black remote. Press the red button with the circle like symbol on it."

Susan complied with these instructions and was surprised to find the large screen that she had assumed was like a computer flashed on with a cacophony of colour and sound. Susan covered her ears immediately and Phyllis unconsciously turned the volume down and changed what was happening on the screen.

Susan stared in fascination, slowly removing her hands from her ears. There seemed to be an archery competition. She laughed in amusement as they missed horrendously and their aim was rarely near the centre of the target. The archery scene quickly changed to another, bright setting but Susan couldn't get the image of the set of bows and arrows out of her head.

"Susan? Susan? Hello? Earth to Susan. Brain link transferring. Mind meld initiating... No response. Sussaaaan!"

Susan blinked away the image of the first archery tournament where she had blown away the competition and the recent challenge with Trumpkin and the yellow apple.

"Sorry Phyllis. I was-"

"A world away, yes, I know. That's actually the reason I wanted to get your attention. I know how much you miss archery; the stupor came on after the mini archery clip on the news. I have to go to fencing class this afternoon and I was wondering whether you wanted to go do the archery session there instead of waiting at your home or here."

Susan blinked. This was becoming a far too common occurrence these few days for Susan's liking. "Must this world ever make me recoil with surprise?" she asked her voice slightly exasperated.

"Cheer up Su, you'll be arching—archerying? No, what, what would you call what you do?"

Susan's brow furrowed, perplexed. "You know, I haven't an inkling. And I've read the dictionary through."

Phyllis shrugged and grabbed a jacket from where it lay, crumpled on the sofa. "One of life's mysteries, I guess. Come on, we've a heck of a walk to go."

(tCoN)

After a walk through a bitter chill, "It's supposed to be Summer!"; the two girls arrived outside an old brick building with scarce peeling paint scattered over the walls. The tired notice board announced 'The Arts of Fighting' with faded print and colour.

Susan winced. 'It looks rather bedraggled." She said to Phyllis who seemed nonplussed.

"Don't be fooled by its appearance, it is better inside." said Phyllis and she clambered up the steps then unlatched the door and held it open. "Ladies First." She said.

Susan gracefully rose up the stairs but paused at Phyllis. "Art thou not a lady, thyself?" she asked, entering the door.

Phyllis pulled a face. "I suppose I wouldn't count. It's not like I act like a lady. I don't act like you. Should've been born a boy, I say."

A man with long mousy brown hair and a goatee greeted Phyllis and Susan as they entered a bright hall after walking through a maze of faded corridors.

"Good afternoon Phyllis! Back for more? Cameron's ready and roaring for bat—Hullo! Who's this?" he asked, noticing Susan.

"This is Suzie. She's for the archery." said Phyllis, her accent changing to be slightly rougher than Susan had ever heard it. She could almost see the man relax as she did this.

"Are you a beginner then, lass?" he asked, a Scottish brogue appearing.

"How dare ye insult her that way, ye fool!" said Phyllis, chipping in, imitating the man's accent once more.

"Quite wrong, good my fellow." said Susan, letting her Narnian way of speaking override her clipped English. "I have many years of experience. Merely, this is but my first experience with archery in this town."

The man grinned. "Leslie'll be glad ter see ye. She's bin lackin' with good archers. Go daan the corridor, first left to the blue door. She's in there with her intermediates. Advanced class is last. Inters should be almost over."

Susan politely thanked the man for his help and made her way down another shabby corridor.

She gingerly opened the blue door to a surprisingly large room with targets set out at varying distances. There was row of four archers with odd, gaudily shining bows; not the beautiful wooden ones crafted by the centaurs that she had owned in Narnia.

A women with long auburn hair, partly into a bun stood behind them and corrected their stance and their aim which Susan could tell, just by looking, was drastically off-target.

Susan glanced a look at the targets at various distances away. They weren't far away at all; perhaps the furthest away was only 150 yards? Susan frowned; she had become far more adept with long distance shooting for war rather than the playful competitions.

"Finish up, you lot!" snarled the lady, looking exasperated. Susan was sure she was called Leslie, not in the slightest reminded by the large tag that said 'Hi, my name is Leslie'.

She then turned onto Susan. "I suppose you'll be looking for a class? Well, love, Beginners finished an hour ago. You're a bit late—"

Susan put up a hand to stop her. 'Quite to the contrary; madam. I was actually waiting for the advanced class."

Leslie burst into laughter. "As if you could actually shoot that well! Come back next week at nine, I'll give you a lesson then, with all the others. I don't need customers that badly and I prefer to not have you dragging us behind."

Usually, Susan prided herself on being level-minded, but her temper, for once, snapped. "Don't you insult my archery skills! I am twice the archer you are!" said Susan, her clipped, rebuking Narnian Queen voice, coming into play.

But Leslie was not quelled by this. In fact, she seemed more riled than ever. "Prove it!' she yelled, her face getting extraordinarily red.

"Alright," said Susan, "I will! An archery competition. Whoever has the highest score wins."

"Wins what?" asked Leslie.

Susan shrugged.

Leslie smirked. "If I win, you have to come into the beginner's class every week and I will be allowed to place you in the Maidenhead Advertiser as worst archer in the country!"

Susan's eyebrows raised; this woman had problems. "And if I win?"

"It won't happen!" said Leslie, with a smirk.

"You must be prepared for every opportunity." replied Susan, getting more than slightly frustrated with the woman's arrogant tone.

"If you win, you'll get a year's worth of free lessons." said Leslie, after a moment of thought. Susan didn't mention that she wouldn't be here for nearly as long as a year, if she could help it.

"Then let us begin. A few practice shots first, of course." said Susan. Leslie stiffly nodded.

Susan picked up the odd plastic bow and bounced it lightly in her hand. The weighting was imperfect, heavier on the ends rather than the middle. However, it was much lighter and required a lot less effort to lift.

Susan picked up the arrow, which was now all metal, rather than just the tip. The arrow itself was heavier but more streamlined. She slid it along the upper limb and settled it in the sight window and the arrow rest. She nocked it underneath the metal peg (at least that much hadn't changed) and lifted it to her face. She pulled it back and was surprised at how much more effort was required to pull this metal cord rather than the tough silk cord that centaurian bows were always made of. He concentrated and honed her sight to the bulls-eye and fired. The arrow fell pitifully short.

Leslie laughed. "That was pathetic! Watch a _professional_ at work!" said Leslie and fired it. It landed in the outer part of the yellow ring. Susan ground her teeth; this woman was really infuriating her.

She restrung the bow and aimed just a tad higher, aiming now, instead for the blue ring. Unfortunately; unlike her last aim where it had sunk, the arrow found where she had aimed it, the blue ring.

Leslie snorted. "Twice the archer I am, huh? Please, my beginners can do better than that!"

Susan felt a cold calm settle over her. _Aslan, if winning this is wrong, then do not let me win. But so help me, if it is allowed, I would like to show this arrogant woman not to underestimate me. _

Susan could almost imagine Aslan's growl, before an unearthly calm fell about her and her composure settled. "Let us begin." She said coolly to Leslie.

"Sure you don't want more practice, love?" said Leslie, with a smirk on her face.

"I am very sure Leslie. If you would like to act like a professional instead of an arrogant school boy, I would be more than happy to start this contest."

Leslie sputtered and angrily stomped to the arrow quiver.

She pulled out three red-fletched arrows and three blue-fletched arrows. She shoved the blue ones into Susan's arms. "Three shots at each target. White is two points, yellow is ten. You first."

Susan walked over to the closest target and placed her feet parallel to the line and notched her arrow. She pulled the string back and for just a moment, she felt that the strange metal had morphed into the smooth warm silk of her Narnia bow and the yellow circle she was aiming for became a bright yellow apple glowing in the mid-morning sun. If she strained carefully, she could almost hear Lucy and Edmund cheering and Peter's silent goodwill. Susan shut her eyes, she didn't need them in her prime, and let loose. She knew she had hit her target by the shocked gasp from Leslie.

"That's not possible! That's...not possible!" Susan opened her eyes and smirked as she realised she had hit the black dot right in the middle of the target. That just made it even better.

"It's a fluke!" spat out Leslie after a few moments of incoherent babbling. 'Do another shot."

"I do have three shots," said Susan mildly.

She aimed once more and this time it was Edmund with her diary scroll on a Sunday in the first year of their reign. She fondly remembered running through the palace with her bow and shooting arrows at Edmund's hands and occasionally opossum maids that didn't dodge quickly enough. There was no harm caused, apart from perhaps a few heart attacks and ripped clothes; but she had been banned from using her arrows for a month by an irate Orieus.

Yet again she fired and it was just to the side of the other arrow. Susan frowned, that was not as accurate as she would have liked.

Leslie was now scowling and looking very red.

Susan strung her last arrow and aimed at the target once more. This time, she saw the hot Calormen sun and Rabadash asking if her aim was truly as good as was claimed. She had given him a mysterious smile, grabbed a bow and shot at one of the red fish jumping up from the luxurious fountain they were sitting in the Tisroc's garden. Rabadash had been stunned into silence, as had the rest of the slaves and servants in that garden at the time.

She opened her eyes again and there! Her last arrow was on the other side of her first arrow. Susan rolled her eyes. "Only me," she murmured and let Leslie take her station.

The auburn-haired lady's hand was trembling as she took aim and Susan was about to tell her that she should wait a little bit when Leslie snarled at Susan with positive venom.

"Be quiet! I'm trying to concentrate!" Susan blinked just a little and stepped back. As Susan suspected; the shot completely missed the target and ploughed into the fake turf. She could almost hear the grinding of teeth from the grumpy woman.

Her second shot was marginally better, Susan noted, but she only hit the blue ring.

The woman growled and her nose flared and her hand stopped shaking. Susan was impressed; her force of will was strong, but she was, perhaps too proud. The woman aimed again and this time in hit the inner part of the red ring and the woman tossed her head angrily.

Susan felt best to cut in with the scores then. "So I have 30 points and you have 15." said Susan pleasantly.

"31," said the woman grudgingly. "You got 31. Hitting the black dot adds you one point." Leslie said.

Susan looked at Leslie with appraisal; she was nothing if not fair. Susan's opinion of the woman rose a great deal. Leslie reminded her fondly of Larzo, Edmund's grumpy astronomy tutor. He had been prickly and grumpy but noble and honest. Susan nodded in acknowledgement for the woman's graces and the moment passed.

"Go to the 100 yards and fire." said the woman stiffly.

Susan had no idea where 100 yards was exactly; so guessed to the best of her abilities. It seemed she was right by the woman's scowl.

She readied her next arrow. She felt slightly disgruntled at how easy it was but she would never boast, for she was a kind-hearted person.

She aimed her bow when a voice that sounded like Edmund whispered in her head _'You have to give the woman a sporting chance. Start shooting with the crossbow techniques instead, see if you can still get a gold ring.'_

Susan heartily agreed and drew the bow back to her ear to make the woman believe she was taking a normal shot. Then at the last second; she twisted her bow sideways and let fly. To her utter surprise, it hit the inner red ring; a much worthier achievement than Susan could have hoped for. She had never used a normal bow like a crossbow with any luck before.

And the look on the woman's face was worth losing the two points she would have gained by shooting normally.

Susan tried the same shot once more, but her hand shook and the arrow plunged into the turf. Susan winced; Orieus, despite not being her archery teacher, would have shouted dearly and loudly at her for such imperfection. Leslie looked triumphant and Susan vowed to shoot in the yellow circle to wipe the look off the woman's face.

A memory resurfaced of a lesson with Moren, one of the only female centaurs she had seen, about the very style of shooting she used now.

She liked shouting. A lot. "IF YOU CAN'T PUT THE EFFORT IN, I WON'T TEACH YOU ANYTHING!" That had been the last day of the Terebinthian ambassador visit and Susan hadn't been practising for over a week. Susan, angry with her teacher for thinking so had no other obligations and had shot at the flower that Moren wore in her hair and it fell with such grace that it pierced the stamen exactly without harming Moren in the process.

It was then that Susan had learned this technique after Moren had declared that she could teach Susan no longer and had asked Orieus to take her under his instruction instead. He said being limited to one form of archery was folly and that she would need to know all kinds and showed her the crossbow technique. Granted, it was with an actual crossbow, but Susan had learned how to make the technique work with her bow. Carrying two would be far too bulky on a stealth mission.

She focused, connected with the inner time of the Earth and let loose with the twisting motion. The spiralling arrow seemed to take its own sweet time to land dead centre. Susan nodded; it was how it should be.

But she was shaken by the amount of power she seemed to have lost with these shots and completely tuned out Leslie's shots and looked back to see a 10, 5,and 8 point scores from the red fletched arrows.

Leslie scowled at Susan. "Get it over and done with." She scowled.

Susan complied and stepped up to the last, furthest away target. She too, was tired of seeing this woman lose. She strung all three arrows and nocked them all between the metal pegs. Leslie looked confused as Susan aimed. Many archers, when fighting the Ettin giants used several arrows at once to inflict more pain. Susan had never been good at these shots but she would try them. Aslan was with her. She pulled the string back and let loose. All three were in the inner most gold ring, which was more than Susan could have hoped for.

Leslie looked at her with shock. Then the auburn lady shook her head and smiled involuntarily.

"I am sorry," she apologized, holding her hand out to Susan who took it, happy the woman didn't seem to have hard feelings. "My pride took a hold of me, and I should have known with your first shot, you were indeed a master. You win; I need not take my shots to know I will not beat you. You will have a year's free lessons whenever you wish to come and practise. That much and more, I owe you."

Susan shook her head. "You owe me nothing." said Susan, graciously, feeling more weary than ever. "For now, I'm going to see if Phyllis is done yet."

Susan placed the bow back in the container, ducked out of the way of the balding men, gazing at her in awe and made her way back down the corridor, making sure to take her things with her.

As she pushed open the doors to the Hall, she once more noticed just how vast the differences between the appearances outside and inside were. It reminded her of the parallels between the wardrobe and Narnia. She took a seat in the stands as she saw Phyllis quickly leaping forwards and backwards, jabbing her opponent lightly several times, crying each time, 'Riposte!', 'Lunge!' or 'Coupe d'arrêt!'.

Susan watched with keen eyes, Phyllis's style was very like Edmund's; to taunt the opponent till they lost control and did a final finish. Susan could almost see the opponent lose resilience and patience as he lunged without any way to deflect a blow.

Even though Phyllis's head was covered by the mask, Susan could almost see the smirk curve along her face as she twisted her blade and the rapier of her opponent fell to the ground. Phyllis called out, 'Prise de Fer!', before pulling off her helmet and holding a hand out to her opponent who refused it with a tetchy sigh.

Susan clapped slowly and smiled as Phyllis turned in surprise. "What did you think, Susan?" called Phyllis, quickly regaining her momentum.

Susan pretended to be deep in thought. "It could use some work," she said after a moment, thinking about what Orieus often said to Edmund. "You lose power quite quickly and your attacks are more drawn-out as you lose energy. You require your opponent to be quick-tempered, which doesn't always happen, so you have to conserve your energy and taunt your opponent at the same time."

Phyllis nodded, looking thoughtful. "I've never thought about it that way, I suppose. I've only participated in bouts that are about 10 minutes long. But then, you must have participated on long, drawn-out wars, so I suppose you would know much better about how to conserve energy to make it last. I don't suppose you want to do some sparring?"

Susan grimaced. "No, I was never superior at hand-to-hand combat. I was an archer through and through and I know every single poison in Narnia and its effects but I could never use a knife or a sword. I daresay that in time, even archery will be but a memory." Susan looked away, while this new world wiped away some of her thought process that would have been over-done back in her England, but knowing she would never return to Narnia, where she was respected for more than being pretty was still heart-wrenching.

Phyllis put a hand on her shoulder. 'I'm going to do a very bad Aslan impression. Bear with me. 'Take heart, dear one. Narnia is not sealed to you completely. You must only believe and trust in me, and you will find your answer. You know me by another name here, and when you find me, you will understand and rejoice.'"

Susan giggled, Phyllis did sound awfully like Aslan had. "Yes, but where is he?" she asked, after a moment, unwilling to let Phyllis distract her.

Phyllis looked astonished. "How do you not know?" asked Phyllis. "Isn't it obvious?"

Susan scowled. "I was slightly busy this past week. I was only kicked out of Narnia forever a week ago!" Susan said. Then, she felt like it truly hit her. She was never to return. Not to her time and not to Caspian's. Narnia was barred to her forever. Aslan had forsaken her. Why should she look for him when he had abandoned her? In fact, why did he deserve her love? What kind of sick, twisted person would show them perfection, then take it away? Phyllis's eyes seemed to widen.

"No, no NO! Stop thinking nasty thoughts! You're not allowed to think!"

Susan giggled weakly. "Am I that easy to read?" Susan asked.

Phyllis shook her head. "Not really. I just know what you're thinking and why."

Susan looked away. "Another result of my life-story being published for all to see?" she muttered bitterly.

Phyllis rolled her eyes. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself Susan. It doesn't suit you. And it wasn't just your life story but your siblings' too. Now come on, I'm taking you to Aslan. Get your stuff, and let's go–

"Phyllis? You are still wearing your fencing outfit."

"...After I get changed." said Phyllis, looking sheepish.

(tCoN)

Susan stared as they entered a school grounds.

"Why are we at a school?" asked Susan, pulling her coat around her tighter as a sharp gust of wind blew particularly close to her.

"It's not the school, I'm interested in." said Phyllis shortly, walking past the entrance.

Phyllis stopped in front of a small church that was opposite the school. Susan read the sign. St Edmund Campion RC Church. Susan smiled, it could not have been coincidence the closest church was named after her brother's namesake.

"A little bit of irony on your part, Phyllis?" she asked as they entered the foyer.

"None whatsoever. This is merely the closest church to Norden Farm. It also helps that I used to go to school here." She said with a smile. "We used to have mass every week in the morning. I knew the service better than most of my Christian friends."

Susan frowned. 'You aren't Christian?"

Phyllis laughed. "No, I am a Hindu. I believe in the idea of many, flawed gods. It suits the ideas of science and my morals. Science rarely allows for perfection in life. It makes more sense. But let's not get into a philosophical discussion yet. First, I need to find a bible."

Susan blinked as she was led into the church. She saw with a great puzzlement, the childish illustrations of Jesus' death from carrying the cross to the Easter mornings line the walls of the church. Each picture had a different style and all were small but struck Susan as beautiful. It was a type of painting that Lucy got frustrated with nowadays, her young podgy fingers unable to capture the delicacy of life, like they were able to when she was older.

Meanwhile, Phyllis had pulled away to the side of the church to a small trolley filled with blue bibles with a beautifully illustrated cover.

"I can't give you an exact quote but I can give you a gospel." Phyllis flipped the pages which were accompanied by illustrations in colour. Finally Phyllis stopped in the gospel of Luke, which Susan had always dreading reading for it was perhaps the longest and most detailed of all the gospels. Susan peered over her shoulder and read the story of Jesus' death.

"So?" she said impatiently. "God dies then comes back to life. That's why we celebrate Easter. What is so special about it?"

Phyllis snorted. "You really are blind, aren't you, Susan?" she said, softly.

Susan's nostrils flared and her lips thinned. She rose to her full height and was about to severely reprimand Phyllis when she interrupted Susan. "Let go of your pride, Su, and actually read it. Let go of your hurt, your anger with Aslan. To be gentle, is to be forgiving and have hidden courage. Not this."

Susan's shoulders drooped. Phyllis was right, was that not what Queen Lydia had taught her? Susan remembered her first year of reigning, when she had first become a woman and none of the animal physicians could explain why she was bleeding, so they had sent her to Archenland, where once she'd only just started to explain what was wrong with her, when the physician had sent her to the Queen.

The Queen had explained to her exactly how to deal with it, amidst much embarrassment and anger. It was here that Susan had also broken down and stopped her false bravado about ruling and told Queen Lydia she couldn't live up to the title Aslan had given her.

Lydia, had told her that being gentle was very difficult. Being Gentle was forgiving first and forgetting first, but also to battle last and to let others act in your stead, which was the hardest part for Susan. Lydia had never managed to explain the last part of being gentle to Susan, because that night, she had died of a heart attack, leaving the kingdom in tatters and her family in grief.

That was when Susan had been thrust into leadership, because King Lune had refused to leave his room and Corin was no use as a king. Susan had run the whole kingdom for three days with the help of advisors and realized just how stressful it all was. She had also been left to deal with all of the flowers and messages of grief from the kingdom. And then inspiration had struck Susan.

That afternoon, she had sent the courtiers and gardeners to organise all of the flowers and commissioned two of the best hedge clippers to do the job of a lifetime. She had gotten the...pleasant job of distracting Corin while the preparations went on.

Perhaps the best part of that all, was at sunset, when she and several courtiers dragged out King Lune and Corin to see their display, blindfolded. With a dramatic reveal, their faces were astonished at the gigantic flower display that read 'In memory of Queen Lydia'. It towered over all of the knights on horses and Susan privately admired the arrangement it must have taken from all the humans that she had never managed to create in Narnia. The crowing glory however were all of the profiles of Queen Lydia carved into the hedges and bushes.

That was when King Lune had appointed her Duchess of Anvard and said she and any ambassadors from Narnia were ever welcome there. That had warmed Susan remarkably to the lands under the Southern Sun. Perhaps too much.

Susan sighed and let go of the memories and reread the story. Already entrenched in memories, it was easy enough to substitute the disciples in the Olive Garden to strengthen Jesus and comfort him with Aslan, Lucy and herself.

It was easy to replace the mocking of Jesus with his clothes and the plaque, with the White Witch and Aslan's mane being shaved off. And it was easy to replace the earthquake with the crack of the Stone Table. And she knew that the two Marys coming in search of Jesus were her and Lucy.

And because of her blindness and bitterness, Susan wept and shook in her grief. She dropped the book, ran to the altar and knelt, looking up to the large image of Christ on a pennant.

"My Lord Aslan, forgive me!" Susan sobbed before shutting her eyes to pray and feel the brush of a mane and a comforting purr in the air.

(tCoN)

Susan sighed as she entered the classroom once more. After that weekend, who would want to resume lessons again? Certainly not her. Once she had returned after Phyllis had finished the homework and Susan had cleaned the large house, Susan had raided her wardrobe for a crucifix pendant and wore it under her shirt like a lifeline. She hoped with a closer link to Aslan, she wouldn't go wrong.

"Hey Suzie!" came a shout from a red-headed girl she was sure was called Lauren. "Are you any good at swimming?"

Susan smirked, that was like asking a dwarf if he was good at forging. "It depends on why you want to know," said Susan diplomatically after a moment, thinking about what Queen Susan the Gentle would say, not just plain old Susan Pevensie.

"Well, that cow Marie is trying out and there is only one place left on the team. If you got in, she wouldn't." said the girl, rather bluntly for Susan's tastes.

"Why should I join?" asked Susan.

"Eternal glory? Bragging rights? Being adored by the PE teachers? I dunno." The red head shrugged. "I just thought it would be cool."

Susan didn't want to admit just how tempted she was by this. She hadn't been swimming in a while. Even in Caspian's Narnia, there had been no swimming to be done; and those who had swum had been Peter and Edmund; not her. "But I don't have my PE kit." said Susan, almost trying to convince herself that she shouldn't do it.

"Yeah you do!" yelled a blonde haired girl with a short bob. "I saw you put it in your locker last week. You weren't going to take it home so you could try out. Are you too scared to try out now then, Suzie? Too daunted by my superior prowess?"

Susan gritted her teeth, what was it with arrogant people and taunting her about her capabilities? She had experienced enough from Leslie that weekend, she didn't need more.

_Aslan? Should I contend?_

There was no reply for a moment, then a warm voice filled her head. _My child, I trust you to do what is right. You are a monarch of Narnia. Do not be disheartened by your journey here. Once a Queen of Narnia, always a Queen of Narnia. Do not forget that I love you always. _

Susan smiled. She didn't need to contend for her ego. Aslan trusted her and she didn't need this place on the team. "No, I just feel that you want it more than I do. I can swim any time. I don't need to be on a team to boost my self-esteem. You have fun!" Susan called back to the blonde girl, who was in fact 'that cow Marie'.

Leaving the blonde girl in a state of shock, Susan sat down at her place. Phyllis sat next to her already, reading Sun Tzu's 'Art of War'.

"Thanks for the help, chum." said Susan sarcastically.

"You had it sorted. You don't need my help." said Phyllis, not even looking up from her book.

Susan laughed and pulled out her notebook from her bag. "What if I had?" asked Susan as she fumbled inside her bad for a pen.

"Then I would have helped silly. I'm not going to help you when you don't need help. From what I know of you, you're an independent woman. You don't really need me. You were what, 30, when you left Narnia? You don't need that support." said Phyllis, spontaneously handing Susan a pen from her blazer pocket.

"I had my siblings when I was there. They supported me through thick and thin. Everyone needs support. And I had a year to become worldly and wise, but still a child. Anyway, I know next to nothing of this world. It's all so new."

Phyllis finally looked at Susan. "But you'll cope, won't you Your Royal Highness Queen Susan the Gentle? Because you aren't a schoolgirl. That's just a persona, a mask. You'll survive as you did when Rabadash betrayed you and when Corin went missing and you were thrust with the responsibility of kingdom. That's just who you are, isn't it?"

Susan went white and did not talk to Phyllis for the rest of the morning.

(tCoN)

At lunch, Susan followed Phyllis to the bustling library, where she had already commandeered a table with a laptop 'port'. Susan found it a silly way to describe a small box with a 'wi-fi' connection, because it looked nothing like a ship's docking or port wine either (and Susan had experienced intimate experiences with both). As students brushed past her, chattering away, Phyllis turned the box-like laptop around to face Susan.

"You see all the red dots?" asked Phyllis, gesturing at the map.

"Yes?" Susan said, unsure of how to answer such an obvious question, poised to her by someone who wasn't a judge, banker or lawyer.

"Rhetorical question, Su. These dots mark all of the schools in Maidenhead. I'm convinced that if you held hands with each other when walking through the portal, you'd be fairly close to each other, location-wise. I've marked some likely schools that are all fairly close to Newlands. I say we split the list in half and make enquiries around. We're bound to find them eventually."

"But we must be discreet." Interjected Susan.

Phyllis nodded, acknowledging the point. "If we go around asking for Edmund, Lucy or Peter Pevensie, they'd think we were crazy, seeing as it's a very popular book series. No, we have to look for people who look like our brother and sister. After all, you acknowledged that Suzie Pellis looks exactly like Susan Pevensie. It would be a physical match, rather than name match."

Susan winced. "Which makes searching for them really tricky." She remembered when she and Edmund had been attempting to track a criminal in Narrowhaven's bustling city centre, based on a vague description for the victim. They had jumped at shadows and arrested so many innocents to try and find the right man.

Phyllis nodded. 'That's right. But if what I've gathered from the situation is correct, we have all the time in the world."

**AN: Wow, the second chapter is finished. That was surprisingly difficult (and long) The next one will be up soon. My writing pace seems to have increased, to my everlasting happiness.**


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